Jaipur Reacts to Rushdie Video Cancellation

Salman Rushdie’s planned video appearance at the Jaipur Literature Festival was canceled at the last minute after police warned of security threats.

The cancellation of the video link, which comes after the author announced he would no longer travel to India as planned, was met with mixed reactions by those in the crowd at the festival, flaring up a debate on how to balance religious sensitivity and democratic freedoms.

“We have not stopped him” from coming to Jaipur, said Mohammed Salim Engineer of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, an Islamist group that opposed Mr. Rushdie. He was speaking during a brief session at the festival that replaced Mr. Rushdie’s canceled video interaction.

“We are simply saying that if somebody comes who is a criminal in our opinion it is our democratic right to protest against him,” he added. His remark did not go down well with the audience of the festival’s packed Front Lawns.

Many authors and commentators have raised questions on what this means for India’s democratic credentials.

“It’s ‘official’ – we have buckled!No Salman Rushdie Videolink at JLF.India ‘officially’ proves to the world that it lacks freedom of speech,” tweeted author Shobhaa De.

Mr. Rushdie’s unusual silence on Twitter spoke louder than words.

Consuelo Sanchez, a 44-year-old businesswoman who lives in Mumbai, said she found the cancellation “really upsetting.”

“This is just bullying,” she said. “This is my fear. They can use this against anyone they don’t like. Next time it could be somebody else. Where does it stop?”

Mr. Rushdie’s participation at the festival was opposed by some Muslim groups who view his novel “The Satanic Verses” as blasphemous. At the festival, which he originally meant to attend in person, Mr. Rushdie was slated to center his talk around his Booker Prize-Winning novel “Midnight’s Children.”

Tushina Poddar, a 33-year-old textile designer who lives in Jaipur, said she was “very disappointed.” At the same time, she said she understood the organizers’ concerns.

“For them to take that decision is not wrong but for the threat to be there is wrong,” she said.

Her friend, Dushyant Bansal, a 26-year-old architect from Delhi, said he agreed. “It was a valid and necessary decision that had to be taken,” he said. But he added something that may not please those protesting against Mr. Rushdie.

“Although I have not read that book that is so controversial, I’m definitely going to go read it now,” he said.

Others, however, had gathered within Diggi Palace, the festival’s venue, to protest Mr. Rushdie’s planned appearance.

Acupuncturist Yasmeen Khan said that if organizers were not able to prevent people from reading from “The Satanic Verses” at the festival, there was no way of knowing whether Mr. Rushdie would say something hurtful to Muslims. India banned “The Satanic Verses” shortly after it was first published in 1988.

“I don’t consider him a literary figure,” she said. “Is using swear words literature?” She added that the purpose of literature was to “join people not divide them.”

She said she was also against the work of artist M.F. Husain, who lived in self-imposed exile from India after his works were Hindu groups.

Many authors attending the festival have spoken in support of Mr. Rushdie, who had expressed regret at not being able to attend the festival in person.

In the early afternoon, as rumors were swirling that the video address would not take place, journalist Philip Gourevitch, who attended the festival, said the controversy over Mr. Rushdie’s appearance had to do with upcoming state elections in India.

Over the past week, there has been speculation in the media that politicians were reluctant to support Mr. Rushdie’s visit for fear of alienating Muslim voters.

“There will always be elections in a democracy,” said Mr. Gourevitch. As a country, “if you can’t have elections and stand up for your principles, you’ve got a big problem.”

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